BoatBout
by CWisShortforTrix
Summary: Trix the Puss in Boats is living her Robin Hood-esque life, out to fulfill an old vendetta against the Loan Witch and her chief familiar, Bella the Puss in Bouts, when a mysterious young girl, a Whampire Bat who thinks he's a Captain Whamtastic and a band of pirates involve her in a conflict that could decide the fate of the world. Heavy use of OCs, some main characters make cameos


Chapter 1: Meet/Part

_She was late. She had already known that before she entered the city._

"Oh, please, stop!" This was the end. The dark streets of Hamelin had forced him into a corner as the royal procession began, and at last his pursuers had caught up with him.

She was a dark, fearsome witch with some of the most terrifying familiars ever to be witnessed, ones thought to be completely untameable. Before him stood a giant beast covered in blue shrubs, and another that appeared to be a minotaur with ancient writing across it's skin. No one even considered crossing her.

"I believe I gave you a generous amount of time to repay your debt." The two familiars quickly edged to either side of the alley as the witch approached the man cowering in the dank alleyway. A cruel smile played on her lips. "You knew the risks when choosing to borrow money from me, and this is how you act. Disgusting." With a flick of her wrist, the man's body was sent crashing into the nearby wall. She cackled as she did so. Her familiars applauded, bowing in reverence to her. He slumped slightly, a pile of blood and flesh lying on the bricks.

"I-I'm sorry… My family was starving… I had no money…"

_Closer. She could smell the money like she could smell tuna fish._

"Then you should have starved. It would have been much preferable to the fate that will befall you now…" She grinned, showing razor sharp teeth. "I could have these two crush you, but… that would be so _boring._ Not to mention messy. BELLA!" Like lightning, a Puss in Bouts appeared before them. To a passive observer from our world, it appeared to be a bizarre orange tabby that could stand upright, talk, and wield a sword, but to the residents of the Another World, it was clearly in a species much apart from the common feline.

_Ah, she had decided to make her appearance. Rapid footsteps on the shingled rooftops. She could not allow her to get away this time._

"P-PLEASE! I'm so sorry, please, no, not her…" As awful as the Loan Witch was, everyone knew her chief familiar was much worse. Although, perhaps familiar was not exactly correct… She was like no familiar anyone had ever seen before. Bella could talk, and at many junctures, defeating theorists who believed that the bond was so strong that the Loan Witch could instill her own will on Bella, was capable of much more intelligence and cruelty than even the Loan Witch. Of course, merely letting Bella loose on someone was the greatest evil imaginable…

She was, however, a polite familiar. "Oh, yes, this one looks… scrumptious. May we have it, Master?"

_No, she could not let her escape again! Damn this labyrinth city! Where could they have ducked away to?_

The witch's smile was now compounded by a laugh. "See, sometimes I am in a forgiving mood. But you have had your chance…"

"Please, no! A week! A week, I'll have the money! If you just got rid of the interest…"

"_Do you take me for a fool?!"_ Any amusement was gone, replaced with rage. "You think my money is just available for any common peasant? No, when you take money from me, you pay interest. Copious interest. And if you cannot pay… then I suppose your life will pay for quite a lot of cat food." The grin returned.

"N-NO! PLEASE, NO!" His howls went unanswered.

"Yes, yes, we shall skin it, it's flesh looks so delicious…" Eyes wide, pupils paper thin, with a manic, Cheshire grin, Bella licked the edge of her blade as she slowly slid towards the cowering man.

Then Bella had vanished.

The man, forcing himself to stand up past his wounds, spun around in circles quickly, until he realized that Bella had not, in fact disappeared; in actuality, she had been whisked up into the sky by…

"Name's Trix, no need to thank me." Trix appeared to be a black cat with an eye patch, a suave red coat and oddly fin like ears. Trix casually licked her paws. More commonly, she was known as a Puss in Boats.

"That DARN CAT!" Rage had returned to the Loan Witch's face, more than had been present before. "How the hell did you find me here? I put anti sensory spells around the entire city, and even had a royal procession scheduled for this time! Get the hell out of here, this doesn't concern you!"

Mewling, Trix paid her no attention, biting the back of Bella's neck. This appeared to have the effect of completely immobilizing her, although not causing her any noticeable pain. "Oh, sorry, it appears I left you down there as well." Then, as if by magic, the man was whisked away up to where Trix stood. Trix hurriedly placed her paw on the man's forehead, and withdrew it. "Wouldn't want to have you put up with that psycho. I knew you had your paws in the Hamelin government, but royal processions? Really? Marcassin's gallivanting gave you enough time to build that much influence?"

"Oh, you foolish little feline. You have no idea how much power I have. If I have to sacrifice my life to do it, I will ensure your demise!"

"How sad for you that even if killed, familiars live on."

"Yes, but I can destroy your memories, any connection you have to this world. I'll make you start over from scratch."

"Well, thankfully for me, I just have to wait you out and you should die of your own accord."

"Oh, but can you say the same for Bella? Even if I die, she will remain, and you two will be destined to continue your duel for eternity."

"Yes, but if she dies, her connection will be lost just as mine would. That I can guarantee, and without you around I have nothing to fear."

"You can say that as much as you like, but there is a spell that exists that can allow me to plague you for eternity." The Loan Witch smiled.

Trix froze, making sure to keep a tight grip on Bella's neck. "Only one wizard ever had the power for that spell. You could never master it."

"That wizard never had familiars like these, did he?"

Trix was silent for several seconds. "Hey, you, idiot! Get the hell out of here, before my charm wears off!"

"B-But-"

"RUN, FOOL! As if your life depends on it, because, actually, it does!" With that, the man broke into a forced run. "Lovely chatting with you, but I have business. I'd say 'See you', but I truly hope that does not happen." And with that, Trix was off.

The smog of Hamelin invaded her nostrils as Trix pounced through the city. She knew the Loan Witch would be doing everything in her power to find her, but thankfully, she had not had enough chance to observe Trix in order to discover her routine. She kept the money on her most valuable familiar, and the farther away from Bella, the weaker the Loan Witch would become. That was the trouble with investing so much time into one familiar; if anything were to happen to it, you would end. Trix planned on putting Bella as far away from her master as possible.

At last, Trix had descended through the lamplight onto the corner outside of Swift Solutions. Recently, a donation box had been installed outside of it in order to aid the poor of the city. Trix took all of the money off Bella and placed it into the box, again putting her special charm on it with her paw. Trix had looked on from a nearby rooftop the other night in amusement to see the Loan Witch's pitiful attempts to pry the box open and take the money for herself. Oddly, it seemed ever since the box's installments, large amounts of cash had been deposited every day, but no one knew from whom the donations came.

Realizing she could not open the box, the Loan Witch tried to steal the money in a characteristically cloak and dagger manner from the proprietor of Swift Solutions, but after incapacitating him, she found she could not touch the money without burning up. This was, of course, when she realized whom the donations came from, and how a great deal of them had ended up in that box. It was, of course, the money Trix had been reallocating from her for weeks on end.

"It's… you?" The street froze, or at least it did in the minds of these two. Trix's jaw muscles slackened slightly from the shock of being caught in the act. A small Hamelin girl, probably sneaking out of bed after midnight, had caught Trix with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

And with that, Bella's nerves started firing the desperate message from her brain to escape Trix's clutches. Bella had taken off. "N-NO!" Trix screamed. In response, the little girl in her nightie shrieked as well, stunned by the idea of a talking cat. However, Trix was already off after Bella, both on all fours.

Being late at night, the streets had emptied of any passers by that might interfere in the chase. Bella rapidly scaled a building, but Trix was no stranger to ascending skinny windowsills and clawing her way over roof hangings. Just as Bella pulled her tail over onto the rooftop, Trix's paw brushed over Bella's tail, just enough for Trix to place her charm on Bella. Trix hoisted herself onto the rooftop, but Bella was gone.

"MEEOOOWROROOWOOOWR!" Bella shrieked, and was thrown out of an alleyway onto the rooftop with Trix.

"H-How…?" Turning, Trix saw that the little girl from before was levitating beside her, here eyes completely white, her hands held out forcing Bella to stay in place, contorting her in pain. The girl's nightie flowed down from her with a radiant power, and her entire being glowed.

"YOU HAVE VIOLATED THE LAWS OF THIS WORLD. FOR THIS YOU AND YOUR MASTER, ONE WHO BEARS FALSE CLAIM TO THE TITLE OF WITCH, WILL BE PUNISHED BEYOND THE COMPREHENSION OF ANY MERE MORTAL."

Trix became alarmed. She had to be the one to end Bella. Wondering if it would work similarly with humans as with cats, Trix jumped and gently bit the back of the girl's neck.

"O-Ow…" The girl suddenly collapsed onto the rooftop along with Trix. When Trix managed to get up, Bella had already vanished.

"DAMN IT!" Trix shouted into the night. No one was awake to hear her.

Slowly and gently, the little girl raised herself up. When she realized she was on a roof, she shouted. Trix quickly grabbed her as she nearly tumbled off the roof. "H-Hey! You ridiculous little girl, what are you trying to do? One second you promise to punish Bella beyond mortal comprehension, next you're going to fall over! Really, what the hell is wrong with you? This is none of your…" Trix was about to continue berating her when the small child started erupting into a volcano of tears. Alarmed that the girl would wake up some of the sleeping townspeople, Trix tried to calm her.

"Um, uh, shhh, shhh, it's okay, I'm, uh, sorry…" Unsure of how to respond as she was not sure why the little girl with the power of a god was sobbing, she decided to gently lick her hand. If biting her neck worked, surely licking would calm her down just as it did with kittens.

"W-WAAAAAAAHHHH! I-I… I don't understand what you said! I just wanted to follow the cute kitty cat… and then I was on a roof and… and… WAAAAAAH! I ALMOST FELL OVER AND GOT KILLED-ED AND NOW THE WEIRD CAT IS YELLING AT ME!" Her tears became worse so Trix tried licking her other hand. Realizing what Trix was doing, the girl started to giggle.

"Hee he… sniff… wh-what are you doing silly kitty?" She managed to get words out through her tears.

"I am NOT a kitty, which you should be clued in from by the sword…" She tossed it into the air, and deftly caught it again, "and my outfit. I am a pirate, and I am not a babysitter. I don't know who your parents are, but they're going to sort out your multiple personality god complex when they find you in front of Swift Solutions tomorrow morning."

"B-But… I WANNA COME WITH YOU!" The girl said, utterly stricken.

Trix was equally taken aback. "I'm sorry, what? No, you can't, out of the question. I work alone. I am a PIRATE." At this, Trix motioned to her outfit. "You are a small girl. Maybe one day you'll be a fearsome pirate. That day is not today. I am not babysitting a little girl while I go around stealing money and killing witches. I don't have time and you'll get killed and then your parents will be mad at me."

Tears were starting to form in the girl's eyes. "Wh-What are parents? I… I REALLY WANNA COME WITH YOU!" Tears burst again.

"N-No, stop! L-look, we'll, um… find the… adults that look after you, and then you'll be fine and you can grow up and be a pirate and I'll find you but for now you have to be a good girl and stay in school and learn about pig masks or whatever the Hamelin government thinks is important to teach impressionable youngsters."

"School…?" Suddenly, the girl stood up very straight. "Miss Kitty, look, look, I can take care of myself, look what I can do!" The girl closed her eyes, and made one of the roof shingles fly up and smash incredibly quickly and very destructively against a building on the other side of the street. "I'm a witch, I think! I don't know very many spells, but I could help you! …Kitty? KITTY?" Not taking any chances, Trix had absconded as soon as the girl turned her back. Magic or not, Trix worked with no one, and she would not waste her time with an apprentice witch. Trix licked her leg casually, feeling good about the way she handled the situation, unperturbed as to the girl's renewed sobs as, now, the good citizens of Hamelin would be awoken, take it upon themselves to look after the girl, and not take any notice of the sly cat thief prowling the rooftops.

Now to find Bella, and fast. Trix had already picked up her scent, and she would not have to put up with the Loan Witch's antics. With Trix's charm placed on Bella, the Loan Witch would be utterly unable to utilize Bella's powers without destroying herself, and Bella, without her link to her master, would slowly be driven insane…

She felt a small amount of sympathy for the townspeople that she had just unleashed a rabid Bella on, but this was overshadowed by her relief that finding Bella would now be child's play.

"Kitty! Kitty, what's your name? You can talk so you must have a name!" The little girl had suddenly appeared in front of Trix once again.

"Girl, you have to go back home to your parents, this is not…"

"Not until you tell me your name!"

Trix sighed. "Trix. Now tell me your name, I'm sick of calling you "the girl" in my head."

The girl stared at Trix for a few seconds, then tilted her head. "Name…?"

"Oh for crying in the sink, you have to know what a name is, you just asked me for mine!"

She stared into space several seconds more. Trix did not bother trying to escape because she knew the girl would just teleport after her anyway. "Um, I… I don't think I have a name! Kitty, give me one!"

"K-KITTY? I just told you my name is Trix!" The girl seemed to ignore this. While "Annoying Thing" was the most immediately apparent name Trix wished to bestow upon this everpresent child, it was long and Trix didn't think the girl would like it. "Um, I name you Short. Because you're short and I like short names."

"Short? That's… a really creative name! I'll treasure it always! Now, what are you doing kitty? How can I help?"

Trix gaped at her. "You said if I told you my name you'd leave! And also stop calling me kitty!"

Short ignored both of these requests. "Kitty, kitty, I want to come with you, tell me what you're doing, I can help!"

Trix gave up trying to get rid of Short or insist on proper, respectful naming practices. But, what WAS she trying to do? How could she sum it up to a small child like this? Looking at her closely through the gloom, Trix saw her details for the first time. The girl had short, light brown, almost blonde, frizzy hair, very round, obtusely large blue eyes, and very dark skin. Her blue nightie was embroidered with white flowers with yellow centers all across it. As Trix examined her, Short yawned loudly, not seeming to be in any hurry to get an answer to her question.

"…I'm hunting." That appeared to be the most succinct way of putting her goal.

"Oooh, cause you're hungry? I can get you some cat chow!" Short put her hand into the air and, within seconds, a bowl of cat food, in many small chunks, appeared. Trix had never seen anything like this before, and it did not look very appetizing.

"No, no, familiars don't need to eat. I mean, we can, and it helps us becomes stronger, but only if it's food we like. That… does not look appetizing." Trix decided to put her criticism mildly.

"Oh, but this is what you feed cats…" Slightly dismayed, Short made the food vanish just as quickly as it had appeared.

"N-No it's not, who the hell would agree to eat that! Look, I'm hunting someone because they have some of my power and I need it back! And also they're awful and they're continued existence upsets me."

"Well then, Shorty Miss Short short will help you! The thing you're hunting is that cat from earlier, right?"

"Yes, but please try to stay back and don't hurt yourself, I don't have time to protect you." With these words, Trix set out towards the Black Market.

"Ooh, I see that bad cat with a scary woman, by the palace entrance! Oh, they're… they're going inside! No no no! Kitty, we have to go!" Suddenly, Short touched Trix's fur, and they were outside of the Royal Palace of Hamelin, right behind the Loan Witch and a seemingly dazed and spinning Bella.

"H-How did you…?"

"Shhh, Miss Kitty, we cannot let them hear us!" Short whispered. Crouching, Short quietly followed them. Surprised by her skill, Trix followed suit. Of course, stealth came naturally to her.

As the Loan Witch passed through the corridors of the palace, people became dead eyed in her presence, and floated along to either side of the corridor to make way for the Loan Witch and her deadly familiar. Thankfully, the Witch did not see them, and despite turning to face them several times, Bella took no notice of Short and Trix.

As they came into the chamber leading to the throne room, the Witch's footsteps echoed on the marble floor across the chamber. A man in a suit of pig armor entered the chamber.

"Who's there…? Where are all the guards… AH! Your malevolence!" The armoured man bowed.

"Pathetic. This is who the prince leaves in charge when he runs off on his adventures…" She looked to the side where her hand lazily motioned towards a man in purple pig armour, suspended from the ceiling, a piece of paper stuck to his chest saying "Fat, Ugly, Pig". The chains suspending him suddenly vanished, and, the armour gone, the man suddenly morphed into a pig. Stunned by his transformation, he started running around in circles. "Ah, that's much better, such a lovely metaphor, but now it's… not a metaphor because it's TRUE!" She cackled. "Don't you just love magic?" The man had wet his suit of armour. "Oh, perhaps it's not so fun for those who do not use magic. Oh well. Controlling Hamelin from the shadows was fun, but I'm bored now. Bella and I are going to take Hamelin by storm, until we find a very precious little kitty cat and skin it alive." Suddenly, she raised her arms out and started floating to the ceiling, along with her newly metamorphosed pig.

"Um, wait, no, I don't think that's a good plan…"

"Oh shut up." Coughing, she pointed at her throat, a strange magical wave exiting her finger. "Citizens of Hamelin!" Her voice boomed, filling every street throughout the city. "You may know me as the Loan Witch, as you all so hastily borrowed money from me. Now, however, I have decided that, since you all owe me so much money, that I am taking this city as collateral. Before you I have projected an image of where I am now, with this adorabuw wittuw pig. This is the fool your precious Marcassin, who nearly destroyed this city before, left in charge. This is what will happen to any who defy me." As soon as she closed her hand, the pig would explode…

However, her hand refused to close. The city of Hamelin looked on in confusion as the Loan Witch's hand started twitching violently. "Wh-What the hell? What… WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH MY HAND?!" In a rage, she lost her concentration, sending the pig down to the floor. However, just as he was about to land, his descent fell, and he turned back into a human. Gasping for breath, he fled the throne room.

"How did that…?" Trix was mystified. As she looked over, she noticed Short was concentrating very intently on the Loan Witch, her hands outstretched, a faint gold aura emanating from her.

Suddenly, Short's face became lax, and the Loan Witch's hand closed violently as Short gasped for breath. So strong was the effort that the Witch was using to closer her hand, it closed with such force that her nails pierced her skin, and she let out a blood curdling shriek, falling to the ground and cutting off the bizarre vision of herself she was projecting to every citizen in Hamelin.

"N-No! Why did my magic fail?" Spinning around wildly, she shrieked again as she noticed that her captive had left. Her bloodshot eyes nearly popping out of her head, she turned slowly to Trix and Short. "Of course… you again…" Her hand slammed onto her forehead, not as if she put it there voluntarily, but as if a magnet had dragged it there. She fell onto her knees, and started laughing in a manner that did not seem entirely human. "Even if I live forever, you will always plague me… I was going to destroy the entire city to find you, but I should have known, you would come here…"

Her other hand was magnetized to her forehead, and her laughing became more manic and high pitched simultaneously. "yOu… ArE a ViRuS tHaT i CaNnOt RiD mYsElF oF… bUt I hAvE a SpEcIaL sUrPrIsE fOr YoU… AnD tHeN I wIlL nEvEr… EvEr… EvEr HaVe… tO sEe yOu… EVER again!" With that, her arms transformed into wings, and she flew to the ceiling.

"H-How can she have magic like that?" Trix said.

"you know what will happen if bella is forced away from my influence… now i can only influence her body… but if i stop… bella will be even worse than usual… i hope you two have… fun…" After this, she cackled again. "but just to make sure i never ever ever evere vere verevevverver hav eto soee you gain i have an extra playmatefor you…" Her speech became slurred and nonsensical.

As she broke through the ceiling, causing Trix to grab Short and leap out of the way from falling metal shards, a Golden Dragon appeared before them beside Bella, breathing blue hot flames across the room.

"N-NO! That familiar can't use that attack! How can she even control a familiar that huge and rare?"

"It's okay Kitty, I'll help you!" Glowing, Short rose into the air. The dragon became fascinated with her, batting at her like she was a pesky fly. "You just look after the bad kitty!"

Bella had been released. Still in the Witch's custody but unable to connect their wills together due to Trix's charm, part of Bella's brain would be deactivated, making her, if possible, even more unstable. "Oh, hi hi Trix, i wanted to talk to you, see, I thought your eyeballs were very interesting… I thought they could be more interesting, if, very, precisely super carefully… I sliced them up and out them ouot of your head, like… a big blck bowl of tasty tasties, then I'd eat your head, and I was wondering what would happen to you, like, can u eat familis? Will you stop existing? that culd b a bit booooring but… it might be…" Not giving Bella a chance to continue, Trix had advanced and sliced at her stomach, immediately halting Bella's mad speech and turning her eyes red.

Bella's sword was out in an instant, but just as quickly Trix had parried. Bella swung her sword underneath at Trix's legs, but Trix rapidly sidestepped this, managing to nick Bella's foot and have her erupt in a howling of pain. Trix knew this was Bella's weakspot, and she quickly kicked Bella in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Stepping on her chest, Trix pinned Bella to the ground.

Short was hovering in circles around the Dragon's head, throwing icicles at every point in its armor, desperately searching for the soft point in this now very dizzy and confused dragon. As Short was moving too fast for the Dragon, it decided its time was better spent trying to bat away the icicles. That's when Short saw a loose scale nearly peeling off at the back of the Dragon's neck…

Trix stood above Bella. This was the moment, finally, when she could erase Bella from existence, and force her to give back the power that was rightfully hers from the start. But…

_The sunset was beautiful that day. Trix and Bella sat atop the Cliffside, licking their fur into place, satisfied with the day's plunder that sat beside them. After washing, they lay on their backs, staring into the sky as it darkened._

_ "Trix, if you could do anything in the world, anything at all, what would it be?"_

_ Trix stared at the orange hues. "…If I told you, you'd laugh."_

_ "Oh don't be silly! You can't hide things from me!"_

_ "…I want to compete in the Tug O' Tail Tournament."_

_ Bella suppressed a laugh. "Um, but… that's for Grimalkins. Familiars can't compete."_

_ "…I knew you'd laugh. It's just a silly dream."_

_ "…One day, we'll dress up as Grimalkins, and I'll compete with you in the Tournament. No one will be the wiser."_

_ "Are you nuts? We don't speak English, it'd be a dead giveaway!"_

"Well, we could learn! Familiars are kind of immortal, right? If we can talk to each other, I'm sure we could learn to talk to Grimalkins."

_ "…Of course. …Thanks."_

_ "No problem. …For sure, one of us is going to win that tournament."_

_ Trix laughed, and pounced on Bella. They suddenly erupted into a tussle, and after several minutes of clawing and wrestling on the ground, they collapsed. It was one of Trix's favorite memories. As they lay there, an oddly dressed woman approached them…_

…But those days were over.

The Dragon screeched, a giant scale crashing onto the floor. Bella pounced on Trix's momentary lack of awareness, escaped from under her, and sliced at Trix's throat. Trix jumped backwards, barely dodging the blow.

Everything became dizzy. A strange yellow figure, blurred in Trix's vision, moved towards her amongst a background of sparkling gold… The gold was vibrating violently, shaking as it collided with the floor in a rather cataclysmic manner… the whole room shook, throwing Trix into the air…

Light. Very bright, shining light. The dragon had vanished, and the world was coming into focus…

"EyEbAlLs… EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EyEbAlLs EYEBALLS eyeballs GIMME WANNA WANNA" Deranged, Bella had begun spinning in circles, slicing the floor, the dragon's scales, the metal of the ceiling… Then Bella started glowing. "IF i CAN'T have the EYEBALLS then I'll just take EVERYTHING hahahAHAHaha…" The glowing was expanding, threatening to devour Trix whole…

That's when the airship arrived.

As it crashed through the remaining wall of the giant room, the sound of screams and jeers could be heard echoing from across Hamelin. Trix could see The Fury of the Forest stomping around the city through the now broken wall, destroying buildings with nary a thought, along with a Candelabracadaver razing the remains of the buildings to the ground, cackling as it did so. A Badiataur was slicing through the streets and the tracks that would normally help with the Royal Procession, and above it all, floating with her eyes in deep concentration, was the Loan Witch, a silent conductor of the chaos.

"Kitty, Kitty I'm sorry, are you okay? I got rid of that big mean dragon, but I don't know what to do about the bad kitty?" Short had run up to Trix's side while she had been distracted.

"…Thanks." The kid was turning out to be much more helpful than Trix had expected.

"Okay, we've been waiting for an opportunity like this for months, crew! The treasure is ours for the taking, and that wack job is so busy tearing up the town no one will notice when the treasures of Hamelin mysteriously disappear! We're taking apart the palace bit by bit!" The voice came from a small ramp leading off the huge, ugly, metallic grey ship that had destroyed the palace wall. It was a Sweet Pea Sprite with a very strong, thick, deep voice commanding an assortment of familiars, and a few humans brandishing swords. Whambats, Sasquishes, Sunshines, Shonky-Honkers, Splishers, Kippers, Sparkees, Najas, Boneheas; there were a veritable assortment of familiars forming up the Sweet Pea Sprites crew.

"U-Um, excuse me?" A Whampire Bat raised its wing in the air heartily. "I think we should probably do something about that glowing cat first! And what about that little girl and the other not glowing cat?"

"Oh god, enough of your insane rambling… Whoa!" The Sprite turned around to see the rather sticky situation ensuing. Wasting no time, Trix grabbed Short and ran in front of them.

"Oh, perfect, you've got a ship. Look, while stealing the entire palace would be a lovely idea, that cat is about to blow it to smithereens. And also this is my town, and my treasure, but that's not the point, the point is, we need to get on your ship NOW, and as a lovely gift for saving your lives by getting you to get out of here, you'll let us ride on your ship!"

The Sprite stared at the duo for a few seconds before bursting hysterically into laughter, along with the rest of his crew. "Oh, oh, that's a good one, really, bravo! Oh, wait, actually it's not. Do you really think I'm going to fall for that? You insult my intelligence! Never trust a Puss in Boats, never! We'll leave, then you'll steal the treasure for yourself! Fat chance!"

"Right, obviously I'll use my telekinesis to haul the entire palace with me as soon as I'm riding on your ship."

"Oh, please! As soon as the ship turns around, you and your little glowy cohort here will jump off the ship, and steal the treasure. No way, crew, tie em' up!" The assortment of familiars started moving forward.

"P-Please! Listen to Kitty!" Short ran in front of the Sprite. "Orange-y, that woman up in the sky is really bad, and I think she likes this palace quite a bit! So, um… Please listen to Kitty, and help us escape!" The entire crew had frozen in place, seemingly unable to comprehend the strange actions of this small child.

"Wh-Who? Oh, this is another gambit, huh? Aw, cute little girl is in trouble and needs help! Not buying it! Put them on the ship!" The Sprite waved its staff, and several members of the crew moved in on Short and Trix as he led another group to start hauling bits of the palace away. Trix deftly hid her sword away in her pants as she swore she could hear the Sprite mutter, "No one calls me orange-y…"

"T-Trix! What do we do?" Fear could not be kept out of Short's voice.

"It's okay, I have a plan..." Trix muttered. She kept the smile out of her voice as the Whampire Bat from before, a Shonky-Honker and an Inphant grabbed the two of them, quickly spun ropes around them tying them together, then hauled them onto the ship as others started grabbing gold and metal…

The ship was massive considering it was run by such a ragtag group of pirates. While considering herself a pirate, Trix had never had a crew, and intended for things to stay that way. Giant steel poles were equidistant from each other on each side of the ship, in five pairs of two. There were many small cabins with doors, stairs leading down to what must have been the hold, and a giant sail atop the bridge that, considering the ship was electronically powered, was merely for show with its stereotypical skull and crossbones. The pirates were taking them down the steps, and at once they were violently thrown into a rather dark room, the door slammed behind them.

"A-AH! T-Trix, I don't like the dark…" Short was struggling against the ropes, wiggling every which way.

"Stay still, we won't be in here long." Calmed by Trix's words, Short became still. Purring to herself, Trix slowly reached down to the side of her leg, withdrawing the sword and deftly slicing the ropes.

"W-Wow! I can move again!" The happiness was palpable in Short's voice. Trix continued to purr.

"Ah, yes… what a lovely ship. Hold my hand and don't let go, we have very little time." Trix grabbed Short's hand, and tested the door handle. "Ah, at least they were smart enough to lock it. No matter." Placing the sword between the edge of the door and the wall it was attached too, Trix sliced the lock clean through, opening the door and allowing sunlight to pour into the room. "Wow, how can your sword do that? That was a really solid door!"

"Meooow… Don't underestimate the power of a determined Puss in Boats. C'mon." Gripping Short's hand tightly, Trix rushed up the stairs. Bella was still glowing in the middle of the pirates. Fortunately, it seemed none were on board as they were piling treasures beside the ship, unaware of the imminent danger that could wipe them out at any second. Trix smiled, running across the deck and up the stairs leading to the bridge. Throwing the doors open, Trix led Short inside.

"Wow! Look at all the fancy buttons! It's a real pirate ship!" Short was jumping up and down in glee. "You're a pirate, right? Can you fly it?"

"Of course, but I'll need your help."

"Oh, goodie, goodie! What do I do?"

"Mash every single button you can." Trix walked up to the central control panel.

"Um… Are you sure that's going to work?"

"Oh, yes, definitely it will. Chop chop, not much time!" As a duo, they worked in tandem to hit every button they could. Some made rather loud noises, others caused lights to flash, more made the ship shake lightly while others seemed to activate a voice or music. At last, Trix pulled a rather large lever on the right side of the left most control panel, and suddenly the ship lifted off the ground. Trix found an interesting looking wheel in the center of the panels, and started turning it about, directly away from the palace. Hitting a green button to the left, the ship began accelerating. "Oh, this should be fun! Let's go say goodbye to all the nice pirates!"

Both Short and Trix ran out of the control room to find themselves flying in the sky. "Wow, this is so amazing! I've always wanted to fly!"

"Careful, don't get too close to the edge." Ignoring her own advice, Trix leaned over the side of the ship to look down at the pirates grouped behind the Sprite. "Really, leaving your prisoners and your ship unguarded? Poor move. Oh, look at lovely Bella. I tried to warn you about her, you really should have listened. Be seeing you!"

"GET BACK HERE YOU DEMON! GIVE ME MY DAMN SHIP BACK! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS, I SWEAR…!"

"Well, it'll have to be in your next life, because in case you didn't notice…" The ship was now far above the city, nearly over the nearest mountain range. "BYE!" At these words, Bella started glowing more intensely, so bright that both Short, who had disobeyed Trix's orders and came to stand with her, and Trix could see her glowing. The light expanded, and then the palace was dust as a giant beam of light shot into the sky. A giant hole was left in the closed in city of Hamelin, and people could be seen fleeing through the front gates, screaming and rioting.

"Um, Trix… That light… what happened to all those people?" Short frowned, looking over the edge of the boat.

Trix gaped at her. Why would she ask a question like that? Children were so bothersome. "Um, they just… went away for a bit."

"Y-You're lying! That palace they were in… It's gone! And all those people are fighting! This… This is your fault! I thought you were a good kitty, but you're just as bad as Bella!" Fury was apparent in Short's face.

"Hey, look kid! I didn't want to take you along, you insisted on coming with me! I tried to get rid of you, and I tried to warn those idiots that Bella was dangerous! This is the Loan Witch's fault, not mine! She tried to destroy the city with that golden dragon, she's the one messing with people's lives! Those pirates were bad people, kid! I did the world a huge favour by letting them die."

"…You let your sister die. You let those people die. You let that city die. …I guess I'll have to fight you too." Short's eyes began to well up with tears, and she quickly turned away. Trix was stunned.

"Hey kid, you're not fighting anyone, I could wipe you out in an instant! I only brought you on this ship to save you from that, but maybe I should've just let you die!"

Short turned to Trix abruptly. The hurt was obvious on her face. "…I don't want to be in this world anymore…" Suddenly, a blue pillar of light enveloped Short, one with strange runes floating around and through it. In seconds, the light was gone and Short had vanished. Trix was left standing there, staring at the ruins of Hamelin, which was being destroyed more and more by the second.

Turning to the person that was already gone, Trix spoke. "Hey, I never told you that Bella is my sister!" …of course, familiars could not really have sisters. But Bella was the closest thing Trix would ever have. They grew up together, they were the same species…

But that was only a dream. Bella was gone now. As Trix stared at the ruins, for a second, she was sure she saw a strange green figure with odd hair holding a staff and it was…

…waving at her?

"Ah, that was quite the, um, little scuffle you had! But never fear, I, the great Captain Whamtastic, am here to save the day!" Turning slowly, Trix came to see the Whampire Bat from earlier, standing on the deck of the ship.


End file.
